Otago Volts toiled hard throughout the Ford Trophy only to be torched by an Auckland Aces outfit that kinda lived up to all Auckland sporting stereotypes. Adding a layer of funk to this for the Volts is that last summer, the Volts finished 1st on the Ford Trophy ladder only to lose to Wellington Firebirds in the final. This summer, the Volts finished 3rd and defeated Canterbury in the elimination final to then face 1st-placed Auckland in the final. Two solid Ford Trophy campaigns, only to fall short in the final ... twice.

This compounds in relevance considering where the Volts have come from and cracking the Ford Trophy final two years in a row, after finishing last (6th) for two Ford Trophy tournaments in a row is a complete flip for Otago cricket. The Volts have also struggled in the Plunket Shield, finishing 6th in 2015/16 and 2016/17 before finishing 5th in 2017/18, then sliding back down to 6th in 2018/19. Right now, prior to the Plunket Shield's second stanza this summer, the Volts sit in 5th.

It doesn't take much to fall off the pace in domestic cricket and the difference between a solid summer and crappy summer can simply be too much success. Producing one or two Blackcaps who impress and graduate from domestic cricket to steady Blackcaps duty can alter the entire course of a summer, let alone all and any other variables.

Northern Districts Knights have previously done a great job of competing at a high level via their production line of talent, enabling them to absorb the ins/outs of their Blackcaps army. This summer though, the Knights sit 6th in the Plunket Shield and finished 5th and 6th in the Ford Trophy and Super Smash respectively. I use this as an example of how volatile things can be in domestic cricket the circuit is a unique beast, heavily impacted by what's going on around it.

The Volts enjoyed notable contributions from some key blokes and the level of these contributions, along with who offered these contributions could be reason to pay far more attention to what is happening in the deep south. This immediately has me skewed towards the younger lads in the Volts set up, making it important at this point to highlight that Otago's leading run-scorer in the Ford Trophy last summer was Hamish Rutherford and this summer it was Neil Broom.

Broom and Rutherford, along with experienced troopers such as Anaru Kitchen form the foundation of Otago cricket right now. Then we have a younger bunch of cricketers, some of whom are products of the Volts development pathways and some are blatant examples of nifty recruitment.

Last summer's Ford Trophy saw Jacob Duffy finish 2nd in wickets behind Hamish Bennett, one of three bowlers to take 20+ wickets in the competition. Duffy took 25w @ 19.40avg/4.83rpo and this summer, Duffy again finished 2nd in wickets with 21w @ 19.19avg/4.85rpo and was only joined by Auckland's Ben Lister in taking 20+ wickets.

With a career List-A average of 23.13 after 52 games (only 25yrs), Duffy has clearly established him as a one-day force and has highly respectable numbers in First-Class cricket (34.33avg) and T20 (24avg). Duffy made his domestic debut back in 2012 and has legit been on the domestic circuit so long that I get lulled into a perspective of Duffy being stuck in domestic cricket. A more logical perspective, especially given Duffy's action over the past few years, has me pondering if Otago's captain has entered his prime.

Duffy is one of the best seam bowlers in Aotearoa. What that means for Duffy as far as Blackcaps selection goes, that's up to you and where you rank your seamers. For Otago, Duffy can't be overlooked as key bloke; Duffy's been through the tough times and has led his Volts out of the darkness ... all as a youngin.

As a local product (Southland/Otago), I'd expect nothing less from Duffy and Duffy has received fantastic support from another decorated junior in Nathan Smith. Smith's low key one of the most talented all-rounders in Aotearoa, in this Ford Trophy bubble it was Smith's seam bowling that took front stage. Smith finished with 15w @ 24.13avg/4.93rpo and this comes after Smith took 11w @ 16.27avg/9.25rpo in the Super Smash.

Smith wasn't much of a factor with the ball in Plunket Shield's first stanza, although he did hit a century and is currently chillin’ with a FC batting average of 26.91. Otago aren't exactly short on all-rounders and with Michael Rippon and Dean Foxcroft joining in that category, the Volts had (and will continue to have) the tools to be a white ball force.

Rippon finished 4th in wickets with 16w @ 28.12avg/5.42rpo and the lefty-leggy also grabbed 189 runs @ 107.38sr, coming with four not-out innings to bolster his average up to 37.80. This is nicely aligned with his work in last summer's Ford Trophy where he finished 6th in wickets with 14w @ 29.42avg/4.79rpo and scored 300 runs @ 42.85avg/86.20sr.

Duffy and Smith lead the local lads, while Foxcroft and Nick Kelly are the recruits; Rippon's a bit of a wildcard here as he's a 28-year-old kiwi-African who has represented Netherlands. Rippon's FC debut in South Africa was for Western Province and this was against Wellington's Devon Conway who was opening for KwaZulu-Natal way back in 2011, all of which presents Rippon as an experienced, worldly operator who fits perfectly into this Volts group.

The recruiting side of this discussion is almost as intriguing as to the ever-impressive group of cricketers coming out of Otago; Michael Rae and Josh Finnie are right there with Duffy and Smith as being key local Volts figures. Foxcroft joined the Volts from Central Districts Stags, having made his debut for the Stags last summer after moving to Aotearoa from South Africa to shake up the Ford Trophy with 259 runs @ 51.80avg/94.52sr and a handy 4w @ 37avg/4.93rpo.

This time around, Foxcroft hit 406 runs @ 50.75avg/87.68sr (7th) and take 10w @ 41.80avg/5.57rpo. Foxcroft's talent was almost undeniable with the Stags last summer, although settling into their 1st 11 may have been viewed as too niggly and with Otago losing two promising youngsters (both from Auckland) in Shawn Hicks and Warren Barnes, grabbing Foxcroft was a huge addition to the Volts group.

As was Kelly's arrival from Northern Districts Knights, in a similar vein to Foxcroft. Kelly was a dominant force in the Super Smash (3rd with 398 runs @ 44.22avg/139.64sr) and finished the Ford Trophy with 374 runs @ 34avg/90.77sr. Both Foxcroft and Kelly have taken their opportunities with Otago and what I find notable here is that they've managed to have an impact in their first summer with the Volts; a mix of good cricketers getting deserved game time and Otago clearly having a group that allows for new lads to contribute.

How you view the potential of these cricketers is up to you, my interest sits in how Otago have built their team to come out of a slump and move forward. There are no issues in the cricketing talent of the wider Otago region and there's a long history of notable Otago cricketers, as well as some of the best prospects in recent years. Otago have complimented their local talent though with what appear to be focused recruitment drives in snaring Kelly and Foxcroft.

Auckland's talent pool is such that their Ford Trophy final playing 11 featured only players from Auckland - with wiggle room to get into the weeds of Kyle Jamieson being an Auckland junior before moving to Canterbury after finishing school and Louis Delport coming to Auckland in recent years to play club cricket. That's not quite a luxury on offer to Otago and while they have some highly talented local lads in Duffy, Smith, Finnie and Rae, I've enjoyed the moves made by Otago to re-fresh their group with smart, timely signings.

Hit an ad to support the Niche Cache, or jump on Patreon help us hit our goal of 50 Patrons. Chur.

Peace and love 27.